Sliding-door opener and closer



Nov. 20, 1928. 1,692,228 -A.E.SMALL SLIDING DOOR OPENER AND CLOSER Filed Oct. 22, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 "\1 J-- A 1 J 1 l Huenior Art/w!- E Small Nov. 20, 1928. 1,692,228

A. E. SMALL SLIDING DOOR OPENER AND CLOSER Filed Oct. 22, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Lvenior Nov. 20, 1928. 1,692,228"

A. E. SMALL SLIDING DOOR OPENER AND CLOSER Filed Oct. 22. 192-3 3 Sheets-Sheet 55 Jimentor .ArfburEJ'malZ Jflorn Patented Nov. 20, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,692,228 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR E. SMALL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO RAILWAY METAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, -A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

SLIDING-DOOR OPENER A1 TD CLOSER.

Application filed October 22, 1923. Serial No. 670,008

through which sparks, dust, rain, snow, etc,

might enter the car. The serious difficulty en countered with the use of such devices is that the doors become so tightly wedged that crow bars or like instruments are often used for initially forcing the doors open or for closing the door the few final inches of its travel.

The side doors of freight carsare frequent ly bulged by the packages comprising the lading bearing against them which bind them and make them difficult tomove; also frequently grain or other plastic lading bulges the door post which binds the door by a gripping action with the spark strips mentioned above. 9

As the side doors are either hung from the top frame member of the car or supported upon the bottom frame member of the car, it is possible for the frame of the car to weave and distort without distorting the side door itself.

All of the above mentioned conditions cause the door to bind in the closed position so that it is impossible to manually open it. Furthermore, it is also impossible to close the door without moving it rapidly toward the front stops which destroy them. It is more desirable, in closing the door, to move it to within several inches of the closed position and then slowly but forcibly close it.

My invention resides in a mechanism for forcibly initially opening the door several inches and which mechanism may also be used for forcibly finally closing the door a few inches.

One of the objects .of the invention is to obtain a device of this nature which is simple to operate and can be readily understood by the class of men who handle freight around a railroad freight house. I

Another object is to obtain a very powerful device without having any wearing surfaces which require worn parts to be frequently replaced.

Another objectis to obtain a device of this nature which is simple to manufacture and to apply to the car and can be readily repaired. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a. railway car slde door with my invention applied thereon.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of my invention with the device shown in full lines in normal position and showing in dotted lines the position it would be placed in when it is desired to open the door. 9

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation of my invention showing in full lines the position of the device when the door is partially open and in dotted lines the position. of the device when it is desired to close'the door.

Fig.4 is a cross section on line H of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 5 is a cross section on line. 5-5 of Fig. 2. V

Fig. 6 is a detail ofthe lever. Fig. 7 is a detail of the link. Figs. 8 and 9 show a modification. Fig. 10 shows the link used with modification 8 and 9.

Fig. 11 shows the bracket used with modification 8 and 9. I

Figs. 12 and 13 show a modification having a link which is flexible in all directions.

Figs. 14 to 19 inclusive are diagrammatic and show'the various positions of the device as follows:

Fig. 14, door closed, with device normal.

Fig. 15, door closed, device ready to open the door.

' Fig. 16, dooropen, device ready to return to normal position by gravity.

17 door open, device normal.

Fig. 18, door open, device ready to close the door. f

Fig. 19, door closed, device ready to return to normal position by gravity.

In the drawings 1 is the side sill of the car; 2 isthe door post; 4 is the spark strip. The horizontally moving side door 5 is shown I with a stiffening member and spark strip 6 mounted thereon. The link 7 is'mounted on the door by pivoting means 8 and lever 9 is mounted on link 7 by rivet or bolt 10. The link 7 is shown with a pivotal connection to the car and also has a pivotal connection with lever 9. However,this connection may be flexible in all directions, as shown in Figs. 12

a normal position, that is, such as it will assume by gravity when free to do so. When it is desired to open the door the lever 9 and link 7 are moved in a vertical plane so that the curved surface 11 engages the projection 20 on the car so that when the lower end of the lever is forcibly moved to the operators right, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, the lever 9 is fulcrumed at point 10 and forces the door open, as shown in Fig. 3. As soon as the operator releases the lever 9 gravity lowers it to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2. 'Ihisslight movement of the door, which in practice amounts to two or three inches, is snflicient to free it from any wec ging or binding action so that the door can be readily and easily moved to a complete openlNhen it is desired to close the door it is moved forward horizontally to within two or three inches of complete closure and then the lever 9 and link 7 are positioned, as shown in dot and dash lines in 3, so that the curved surface 12 of the lever engages the projection 20. The bottom of the lever 9 is then moved to the operators left, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 3, until the door is closed. As soon as the lever is released it assumes by gravity the position shown in Fig. 2 and the operation is complete.

The curved surfaces 11 and 12 on the upper end of lever 9 constitutes means to retain the lever operatively connected with the projection 20 because when the concave surface 11 (or 12) is in contact with projection 20 any pressure exerted on the handle of the lever 9 has a tendency to move the lever longitudinally until the projection 20 engages the bottom of the concavesurface. I may roughen the surface by providing teeth or indentations on these curved surfaces 11 and 12 so that in opening the door the projection 20 may engage indentations 13, 14, 15, etc., as desired or when closing the door indentations 16, 17, 18, etd, may engage projections 20. It will be noted that after the device has opened the door a few, inches or after the device as fully -closed the door that the device is absolutely free to return to normal position by gravity.

Figs. 8 to 11 inclusive show a modification wherein the pivoting means 30 is pivoted to bracket 31 which is secured to the spark strip I 6, The projection 20 is provided with head Figs. 12 and 13 show a modification wherein the lever 9 is suspended from the bracket 40 by a link 41. This link operates in the same manner as link 7, described before, and has the further advantage that it has more flexibility and can more readily accommodate itself to the irregularities of car construction.

The various parts are so positioned on the car andothe door respectively that if the door is partially or completely opened, no part of the device projects into the doorway or in 7 any way restricts the size of the door openmg.

In the drawings and description I have shown the lever mounted on the door and the projection positioned on the car. However, it is understood that the projection may be positioned on the door and the operating lever on the car and still come within the scope of this invention. 7

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: V

1. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move'horizontally to open or close said open ing, a projection on the car wall, and a lever flexibly fulcrumed by a link to said door, the parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to initially open or close said door, said lever being free to fall out of contact with said projection when released.

2. In a railway car having a Wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said opening, a projection on the car wall, and a lever flexibly fulcrumed by a link to said door,'the parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to open or close said door, the contacting surfaces of said lever curved so as to retain said lever in operative position while the device is operated.

3. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said opening, a projection on the car wall, and a lever flexibly fulcrumed by a link to said door, the" parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projections to open or close said door, the contacting surfaces of said lever provided with a roughened surface to retain said lever in any of several desired operative positions.

4. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said open ing, a projection on one of said elements, and a lever swingably suspended from the other of said elements, the parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to initially open or close said door, said lever being free to fall out of contact with said projection when released.

. 5. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said'opening, a projection on one of said elements, and

a lever swingably suspended from the other of said elements, the parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to initially open or close said door, the contacting surfaces of said lever curved so as to retain said lever in operative position while the device is operated.

6. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said opening, a projection on one of said elements, and a lever swingably suspended from the other of said elements, the parts arranged'so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to initially open or close said door, the contacting surfaces of said lever provided with a roughened surface to retain said lever in any of several desired operative positions.

7. In a railway car having a wall with a dooropening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said opening, a projection on one of said elements, and

a lever flexibly fulcrum-ed by a link to theother of said elements, the parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to initially open or close said door, said lever being free to fall out of contact with said projection when released.

8. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said opening, a projection on one of said elements, and a lever flexibly fulcrumed by a link to the other of said elements, the parts arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projection to open or close said door, the contacting surfaces of said lever curved so as to retain said lever in operative position While the device is operated.

9. In a railway car having a wall with a door opening therein, a door arranged to move horizontally to open or close said opening, a projection on one of said elements, and a lever flexibly fulcrumed by a link to the other of said elements, the parts. arranged so that said lever may be contacted with either side of said projections to open or close said door, the contacting surfaces of said lever provided with a roughened surface to retain said lever in any of several desired operative positions.

ARTHUR E. SMALL. 

